/r/RocketLab

Photograph via //r/RocketLab

Fan-run subreddit for the aerospace company Rocket Lab

This fan-run subreddit is for news and discussion about Rocketlabs spaceflight operations. For stock-specific discussion, use r/RKLB or the provided megathread

Rocket Lab Website

Rules

WIKI

Rocket Lab’s mission is to remove the barriers to commercial space. It was founded on the belief that small payloads require dedicated small launch vehicles and the flexibility not currently offered by traditional rocket systems. Founded 2007 in New Zealand



Vehicles:

Electron Stats:

  • Height: 18 m
  • Nominal Payload: 200 kg
  • Max Payload: 300 kg
  • Liftoff mass: 13,000 kg

 

E- FIRST STAGE

  • Lift Off Thrust: 224.2 kN
  • ISP: 311 SEC

 

E- SECOND STAGE

  • Total Thrust: 25.8 kN
  • ISP: 343 sec

 

THIRD "KICK" STAGE

  • Propellant: Liquid bi-propellant

NEUTRON STATS

  • Height: 40 m
  • Nominal Payload LEO: 8,000 kg
  • Nominal Payload to Luna: 2,000 kg
  • Nominal Payload Mars & Venus: 1,500 kg
  • Estimated Liftoff mass: 450,000 kg

 

FIRST STAGE

  • Lift Off Thrust: unk kN
  • ISP: Unk sec

 

SECOND STAGE

  • Total Thrust: Unk kN
  • ISP: Unk sec

 

Both Stages

  • Propellant: Liquid bi-propellant
  • LOX & Kerosene

 

Related Subreddits

r/SpaceX

r/Space

r/Spaceflight

r/Ignitionporn

r/NewZealand

/r/spaceweather


This subreddit is entirely fan-run and is not an official Rocket Lab website. For official news, please visit rocketlabusa.com

/r/RocketLab

23,113 Subscribers

10

Ground systems engineering Test

Hey, I was wondering if I could get some advice here. I applied for a ground systems engineer position and I got an interview. After the interview they told me that the next step is a 24 hours test or quiz that is more related to industrial. Does anyone have any suggestion to what material should I be practicing or going through to prepare myself?

3 Comments
2024/09/10
22:29 UTC

122

New additions at Wallops, Virginia over the last few months. Rocket Lab appears to be really getting ready for the Neutron launch.

6 Comments
2024/09/08
21:41 UTC

111

Installation of the world's largest carbon composite rocket-building machine for Rocket Lab Neutron launch vehicle (left) versus how rockets were made (right).

13 Comments
2024/09/06
22:40 UTC

29

Makers of: Mars Mission - Rocket Lab YT Channel

4 Comments
2024/08/31
00:24 UTC

29

Rocket Lab Recruiter Ghosted Me

They emailed me to set up an phone screening and we agreed on a time. They did not call at the agreed upon time and they are ignoring my emails. Why do they do this? Why not just say that they are no longer interested?

Update: they reached back out to me

20 Comments
2024/08/30
21:09 UTC

16

Rocket engine overview

https://preview.redd.it/0b51b8b6xjld1.jpg?width=1164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9460ee1dd7712a677d88459240c5bed1dec02597

Came across this overview of rocket engines. Safe to say that RL can do a lot of optimization on the engine in the future to improve Neutrons performance. What do you think?

20 Comments
2024/08/29
07:00 UTC

6

Constellation

Can someone explain what building a constellation exactly means? What is rocketlab trying to do here?

23 Comments
2024/08/27
21:17 UTC

0

Where does one living working on Wallops Island?

What’s it like living there?

6 Comments
2024/08/26
19:23 UTC

12

Any chance for consideration? Rejected due to short jobs(Aviation background).

I had applied for Vehicle Integration and got scheduled for a phone interview. When the date/time came, I didn't receive a call but about an hour later got a message that RocketLab decided to go with NZ/Aus residents for the position. Yesterday, I get a email about another job I had applied for(Reaction Wheel) that got filled and was telling me to basically reapply. I see that Vehicle Integration is still up there so I inquired on whether I should reapply for that too. The response I got was most of my recent jobs were too short and the team decided to move on.

I never got a chance to interview to explain that those were contract jobs in the aviation field. They said they were looking for people that had +3yrs at one place but the last 7 years I just worked in aviation(though worked at Sierra Space and Huntington-Ingalls in that time span too), I think most I spent at one place was 2 years but we ended up getting laid off a lot when the job was done. Prior to getting into aviation, I worked at Caterpillar for 5 years. Am I basically out of luck or is there anything I can do to earn another chance at an interview?

18 Comments
2024/08/26
17:51 UTC

0

I hope what I'm thinking doesn't happen

I have a theory about why Blue Origin might finally cancel the launch of the Rocket Lab probes.

It was recently revealed that Blue Origin had applied for a license from the FAA to ship the Blue Moon MK1 in March 2025. (https://www.reddit.com/r/BlueOrigin/comments/1eqf17f/blue\_moon\_mk1\_pathfinder\_net\_march\_2025/)

A few days ago Bloomberg revealed that the hardware of the second and third New Glenn ship had been damaged in internal company tests, if the report is accurate, BO only has a single New Glenn ship tested and ready to fly, with the urgency of BO to demonstrate their lunar rover for missions to NASA while Starship is in development, they may have their internal interests as priority. (https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/company-news/2024/08/21/bezos-blue-origin-suffers-fiery-setback-building-new-rocket/)

Let us remember that the probes that Rocket Lab has manufactured are launch class D, low-cost and these can be delayed, since they are not an urgent priority like classes A and B would be.

These are my thoughts, maybe I'm wrong and everything is ready for launch, but if Blue Origin decides in the end that they will not be able to meet the schedule for the window, it is possible that they are considering this path of prioritizing their lunar module since they are very profitable missions that NASA spends a lot of money

32 Comments
2024/08/24
19:51 UTC

0

I fully believe in rocket lab

Who here isn't selling there shares

8 Comments
2024/08/23
01:50 UTC

7

RL Mars Rideshare? Possible in 2026?

Electron mass to LEO: 320 kg

Dry Mass of Photon kick stage: 40 Kg (for Mars applications)

ISP of kick stage engine: 310 s

-> You can push 90 kg to about a DV of 3.9 km/s, so that with 40 kg dry mass kick stage you have 50 kg left for payload.

The RL mission with Photon is about $10M

So $200,000/kg

So maybe 5 10kg cubesats at $2M each?

Compare to a potential SpaceX rideshare on F9 at $60,000/kg (1,500 kg total payload)

20 Comments
2024/08/20
22:09 UTC

8

Can one use an Ion Engine as propulsion on a RL Explorer (12U Cubesat) Bus?

They seemed to use a 2 or 4 U Hydrazine Thruster on CAPSTONE. While we like the deep space record of the Explorer bus we might want to go the Ion Engine route.

2 Comments
2024/08/19
12:30 UTC

51

Finally got in at $6.80

Little late to the party but let’s get it

44 Comments
2024/08/16
19:33 UTC

81

Rocket Lab ships twin satellites to NASA for mars program.

It's another great day for rocketlab, my favorite company. Stock price is going bananas today!! I'm a long term holder of shares. Last year at this time we were were around $7 too.

5 Comments
2024/08/16
16:28 UTC

16

Working at Mahia site questions

Heya,

I'm looking at applying for a job out there.

Anyone that currently works or has worked out at Mahia, I'd love to chat to see what it's like it there.

Thanks!

0 Comments
2024/08/16
06:05 UTC

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